Monthly Archives: July 2014

I am finishing up a three day-er to Cleveland from my home base near Boston. I arrived in Cleveland yesterday morning via Charlotte (guess which airline I flew?). While I was walking through Charlotte-Douglas International Airport heading to my connecting gate, I realized why I like traveling so much. It may be a cliche, but seems to be true. It is not the destination, but the journey. And on my travels, I really enjoy meeting different people and watching people doing their thing as they move from here to there or there to here.

Let’s go through some of the interesting folks who have crossed my path on this trip.

1. Obese women waddling through Charlotte-Douglas with too short too tight shirt that did not cover up the muffin top. Obese woman was trailing three children, each of which was toting a small piece of child’s luggage. The woman turned around and saw me watching the scene and pulled her shirt down on one side, leaving the other side exposed. The struggles of flying are numerous and with three children, a parent must be stressed to the limit. I hope this lady found her way and did not suffer too much. I so wish I had a picture of this scene.

2. Here in downtown Cleveland there is a casino attached to the hotel at which I’m staying. I went over this evening to get some dinner and check out the scene. I did not, repeat, did not gamble a single dollar but saw way too many people who looked like they shouldn’t gamble either, putting more and more coins into the one-armed bandit or at least flashing their frequent gambler card against the machine that continued to take their money. The best part was that they were smiling and laughing and cheering as the wheel went round and round.

3. “I see dead people” – Today I got a behind the scenes tour of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. I saw the largest vault door in the world whose two hinges each weigh 72 tons but balanced to perfection so that two people have no problem moving the door. I saw two robots, named Laverne and Shirley, move around thousands or millions of dollars in the secure vault area. I also saw a $100,000 dollar bill. Guess who is on the bill? Woodrow Wilson, hence the dead people reference.

Traveling provides lets me see folks from around the country. I cannot wait to fly home tomorrow night and see who crosses my path. Travel on…

Do you have so much work that you can’t get away from it? Or maybe work can’t get away from you? The other day I witnessed, in sound only, a gentleman in the restroom stall typing on his laptop. Let’s be clear, this was the restroom at my office building, not at home, not in an airport, not at a restaurant, but in an office building where one can easily make the assumption that this is where the gentleman works. One can also easily extrapolate that he has a desk and a computer somewhere in the building. Why then does he feel the need to sit in the restroom stall, making noises, and typing away at his laptop? Any thoughts?

Like this:

I’m on my way back from Denver this week. Well, not quite Denver but Centennial, Colorado that is located about 30 miles southeast of downtown Denver. It is flat. Relatively dry. And very suburban. No offense to folks in Centennial, but there really isn’t much charm to life in this “city.”

So on to my question, “Is it worth it?” What is “It” you may ask. “It” is the status many frequent flyers accrue for sitting butts in seats, nights in hotels, dollars spent, cars rented, etc… I think you get the hint. What does Silver, Gold, Platinum, Pre-Check, Global. Premier, Executive status confer upon us and “What is it worth?”

Is it worth getting on the plane first? Is it worth getting upgraded to a suite instead of a regular room, even though the traveler will only spend a few hours in the room? Is it worth getting a Dodge Charger muscle car instead of a Kia? Is it worth going through security at the airport and not having to take off your belt in the name of safety and security? I’ve started to accrue a few of these perks myself and have tried to take advantage of them as much as possible but I always ask myself “Is it worth it?” My only answer right now is “I don’t know” at least I haven’t figured it out yet.

Which brings me to my next point. Is it OK to say “I don’t know.” Alas, someone smarter than I can chime in here as I don’t have a good answer except to say “depends.” Until next trip….